Faith in Action: Life Satisfaction Impacted by Belief and Belonging

Publication Date

2026

College

College of Sciences & Mathematics

Department

Psychological Sciences and Neurosciences, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor

Adam Smiley

Metadata/Fulltext

Metadata ONLY

Presentation Type

Poster

Summary

Religion has long been associated with high life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing in previous research (Sternthal et al., 2010). However, there are many factors that predict this relationship and alter its intensity, including religious engagement, perceived significance, strength of beliefs, and social support (Sternthal et al., 2010; Akbayram & Keten, 2024; Ellison, 1991; Roh et al., 2025). The purpose of this study is to examine how the relationship between religion and life satisfaction is impacted by one’s strength of belief and involvement in religious small groups. I will test this question by analyzing data from the 2021 American National Family Life Survey (N = 5,030). It is hypothesized that religion will be linked with high life satisfaction, and that a stronger belief in God and involvement in a prayer/bible study group will predict an even stronger relationship with life satisfaction. Additionally, it is hypothesized that involvement in a prayer/bible study group will significantly change one’s level of life satisfaction. Data will be analyzed and the results will be presented at SPARK.

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